Unaware
by Firefly-Maj
Summary: At different occasions, different people watch Aragorn sleep, thinking about him and life so far... Fluffy, short, no slash.


**Disclaimer**: I do not own any of the original characters or storylines, it is all J.R.R. Tolkien´s...

Hey everyone, I toyed with the idea of different people in different times watching our favourite rangerandking sleeping, so here goes...It really is just a short one, and I´m still working on "Home and the Heartland", Chapter 5 will be submitted soon. Reviews are most welcome and appreciated!

**Unaware**

Elrond Peredhel got up from his desk and stretched his stiffened body; he had been working till late and was dead tired by now. He extinguished the lamp on his desk and left his study, heading straight for his bedroom. The hallways were dark, for the other inhabitants had gone to bed already. Elrond did not bother to turn on a light in his room, but when he pulled back the bed covers he felt a strange resistance. When he looked more closely he could make out a small heap and smiled involuntarily, as he thought he knew who it had to be, and rightly so: when he lit the bedside lamp, he saw his little foster son peering out from under the blankets. "Estel", Elrond said, "why are you not sleeping?" Estel hesitated: "Brown was afraid", he finally said, showing him his stuffed horse for affirmation.

Elrond subdued another smile: "Did he have a bad dream again?", he asked while he changed into his night-shirt.

Estel shook his head: "He just could not sleep.", he said, "and then it was so dark and silent."

"But why did you not come to my study or go to one of your brothers?", Elrond inquired.

"I came here because I thought you were in bed already", Estel replied.

Elrond nodded: "And you stayed here although it is dark and silent in here as well?" "It is not that bad", his son explained, "it smells like you and then Brown is not so afraid."

Elrond got into bed and took the little boy and his stuffed horse in his arms: "Now that I am here, neither of you needs to be afraid anymore", he said and kissed the child goodnight. "Sleep well, little squirrel." "You too, Ada."

It did not take the little boy long to fall asleep, now that his father was with him, but the latter lay awake for a while, listening to Estel´s breathing; he had loved the child from the beginning, and he had come to think of him as his own flesh and blood, if that was even possible. He wished he could protect the little one from the fate that was destined for him, spare him from war and grief. _Let him_ _be a child forever_, he thought, _he is so precious_. It already was hard on the elf lord to know that his twin sons would be leaving home one day, even though they were immortal where Estel was not. To Elrond, time was the greatest mystery ever; why did he have so much of it but could not share it with those who were dear to him?

He was distracted from his thoughts when Estel stirred, pushing Brown against the elf´s chest. Elrond smiled at how peacefully the boy´s face looked: as long as there were moments like this, he did not really have the right to complain, did he?

--

Legolas walked through a hallway in the king´s palace; all was quiet in Minas Tirith, most people had gone to bed hours ago, but the elf was wide awake; it was days after the battle, days after Mordor fell, but he still was strangely aroused and discomposed, not being able to shake off what he had seen on the battlefield. True, he had bantered about it with Gimli, but at the same time he had never seen so much death, so much suffering at once. He could not apprehend why he had no trouble to kill someone at all when on the other hand it affected him so much.

He had decided that he needed to talk about it and hoped to find Aragorn still awake, because his old friend would understand him. When he saw light from under Aragorn´s door, he softly knocked, but 

did not get an answer; in fact, he heard nothing at all. Something told him that it would be alright to open the door and peer inside though; when he did exactly that, he saw that Aragorn had apparently fallen asleep at the desk in his room.

Legolas quietly entered and approached his friend; Aragorn had been writing something, he still held the quill in his heavily flayed hands. Although Legolas regretted to disturb the exhausted human, he decided to wake him; he deserved to sleep properly for once, worn out as he was, and would best do so in a bed. He looked pale and drawn, and Legolas knew that the prospect of finally becoming the long awaited king did not exactly help him to release the tension that had built up in Aragorn during the past weeks.

Legolas shook his head when he thought of Helm´s Deep: when Aragorn had arrived there he had just been through quite an ordeal, but the stubborn man would not hear any of Legolas´ suggestions about resting or even sleeping. The elf still did not know how his friend had mustered the strength to keep up through the ensuing battle.

"Aragorn", he said softly, touching the man´s shoulder with his hand, "do you intend to sleep like that?"

Aragorn woke with a start: "Legolas! What-" "Do not worry", Legolas said at once, "everything is alright. I just thought you might want to go to bed rather than wake up all aching and cold tomorrow." Aragorn gave him a sleepy smile: "Well, now that I have just gotten used to it..." Getting up, he hesitated and looked at the elf in concern: "I am sorry, my friend. Are you alright at all?", he added, because it had just occured to him that if Legolas had come to him in the middle of the night, he might have a reason for it.

Legolas shook his head: "Nothing of importance", he said reassuringly, "we can talk tomorrow." Strangely enough, he already felt calmer just because of the presence of someone he was close to and had been for a long time. "Are you not tired?", Aragorn murmured, while he crawled on the bed and under the blankets, not even bothering to get properly undressed.

"No, I am not", Legolas smiled.

"Stay with me, then", Aragorn said softly, closing his eyes. "Tell me a bedtime story, just like you did when I was little..."

At this, Legolas chuckled. He sat down next to Aragorn and leaned against the bed´s headboard: "Once upon a time, when the trees were still young and all of middle-earth innocent, there was a little elfling called Greenleaf..."

--

Arwen´s gaze rested on Aragorn, who was fast asleep; her eyes followed every line in his face, every new scar on his skin. She knew how much he had had to endure since they had last met, what a burden he had had to carry, and she could see how much it had affected him. She gently laid her hand on his; only when they had been reunited had she realized how much she had missed the way 

he smelled and felt, the warmth of his body and the sense of belonging he gave her. She loved the way he moved and how he looked at her when they were close, and she never wanted to have to miss him that much again. Gently, she laid her hand on his chest, feeling his heartbeat; he would leave her one day, and she dreaded that day with all her being. But she did not want it to sadden her now; Aragorn´s heartbeat was strong, and now their time together had finally come.

When Arwen had decided against sailing to the undying lands, she had made a silent vow, and she would abide by it: to cherish and savour every single day.

**The End**


End file.
